I ran the 2019 edition of the Dallas Marathon. This was my 8th marathon. I'm 46 years old, 6'2", weigh almost 200 pounds, and two months ago ran under 1:29 for a half marthon on a loop course with some hills. With a ton of training, the heat and hills of Dallas (and a terribly executed race plan on my part) resulting in a 3:55 marathon, one of my slowest. So why do I love Dallas after this painful showing?

#1 - The crowds. Just awesome people alongside the course. Sure, it isn't a million people like NYC lining the whole course, but there are plenty of folks along the way to cheer you on, and more importantly that are anxious to provide additional goodies and aid. Massive cramps set in for me at mile 14 (yeah, not good), but there folks handing out things like pickle juice, water, and tons of other "unauthorized" things that kept me going all the way to the finish (well, I actually fell a half mile from the finish and guess what ... three random strangers immediately came to my aid, picked me up off the ground since I couldn't move my legs as they were seized up with cramps, gave me a fresh water bottle, pointed me towards the finish, and off I went!).

#2 - Excellent aid stations. Each aid station was WELL stocked with plenty of water and Gatorade (endurance formula - which maximizes energy absorption / etc.). There were over 20 stations, and each one was well organized and stocked to the max.

#3 - Not too crowded. This means you can ran a great race, plenty of people to draft off of or chat with, but not so crowded that you are bumping elbows and spending extra energy. Easy to position myself in Corral A wherever I wanted (first time I have ever decided to move myself BACK from the front in an effor to be "smart" about my pace, which of course I didn't do). Literally THE perfect size of race ... not too small, not too big, but just right.

#4 - Plenty of port-o-potties before the race. This is a big deal for me. I have had races where I had to pee so bad that I was just miserable - we have all been there. Dallas had enough facilities that I was able to pee a couple of times right up until a few minutes before the start; they don't skimp on this, and wow does that make the race SO much more enjoyable!

#5 - Great course. Sure, the first few miles are a gradual climb. And yes there is a tough one mile climb that takes you up a couple of hundred feet at mile 20 - I won't lie, it sucks (and made me wonder if they should just flat-out reverse the course - there is no avoiding the incline with the loop around White Rock Lake, but it could occur at mile 16 instead of mile 20 ... but whatever, doesn't REALLY matter if you run a SMART race, which I didn't!). The downtown portion is fun and historic (past the "grassy knoll"), uptown is chic and fun, Highland Park is just gorgeous and just fun to run through, Greenville is hiptery cool and fun, White Rock Lake is beautiful and a nice contrast from the city streets, and then the return to downtown is a nice gradual decline (mile 21 - 26) through more nice streets and hip areas, finishing in the fabulous downtown skyscrapers. Just a perfect route (but no, not as fast a flat course.

The weather is USUALLY great, but can vary plus or minus 20 degrees from the typical 50s temps. I don't run well in heat, and so of course it was a sunny warm high 70s day. Still was just a wonderful race that strangely tugged at my emotions and just brought out a smile the whole way, even when falling and having leg cramps. One a nice weather day, I would say a 3 hour marathoner on a perfect course could probably tack on 2 or 3 minutes to their time to account for the hills. But with the right training and prep, it certainly is fast enough to run a great race and possibly a PR / Boston Qualifier.

Final tip - I stayed at the Hampton Inn downtown that was literally 3 blocks from the start, and they let me check out at 2PM. No parking hassles, just walked from my room to the start; also highly recommended.

Thanks for reading - in summary, two huge thumbs up - do it!